Welcome to the Tribune!
While the West Essex Tribune’s regular readership will not notice many changes to this week’s issue, some are picking up our paper for the first time. This week’s edition is a TMC (Total Market Coverage) issue, the third of four newspapers this year that we will mail to every home in Livingston.
We who make the Tribune are so proud to work and live in a town that values community reporting, and we do our best to be an essential part of your weekly media diet. While there are many other places to get news on a state and national level, no other newspaper exclusively covers Livingston.
We cover the Town Council, Board of Education, and Planning and Zoning Board meetings, highlight local residents, and provide updates on what is happening in our schools. We make sure no appointment, resolution, or budget goes unchecked. We keep up with our athletes, celebrate your accomplishments, and publish your letters to the editor.
We are sincerely grateful that you are taking the time to thumb through this paper, and we would love to add you to our family of subscribers. If you’d like to sign up, just send an email to [email protected] with your name and address, and we’ll take care of the rest. You can even ask for a trial subscription and get a month for free!
We work very hard to deliver all of Livingston’s news to you, and we hope it shows.
Get Your Fall Shots
We are past the mid-point of September, National Immunization Month, which means it is time to encourage everyone to get their flu and COVID booster shots, the latter of which has just been updated to protect against the latest variants.
While seasonal influenza viruses are detected year-round, they are most common in the fall and winter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), everyone older than six months should get a flu vaccine every “flu season” to help prevent the contraction and spread of the virus.
Influenza can be a very serious disease that may lead to hospitalization or even death. According to the CDC, each flu season is unique and every infection affects people differently. Millions of people get the flu each year, leading to hundreds of thousands of hospital visits and tens of thousands of deaths from flu-related causes.
The flu vaccine, a simple shot, is the best way to protect against the disease. The vaccine causes antibodies to develop that provide protection against flu infection. It takes about two weeks for the antibodies to develop in the body, so the sooner you can get vaccinated, the better. It is also important to get the vaccine early in the season; September and October are the best months to get the vaccination, according to the CDC.
While the vaccine does not protect against every strain of the flu, it has been said to lessen the severity for those who contract it. The vaccination is particularly important for those at high risk for complications from influenza, including senior citizens, young children, pregnant women, and people suffering from medical conditions It is also important to remember that COVID and flu vaccinations are not just for your benefit; they are also for everyone around you. We do not want any residents getting sick, and we certainly do not want them passing on these viruses to us!
So please, get your shots; you may even choose to get them concurrently. They will only take a few minutes of your time and most, if not all, of the cost should be covered by most insurance providers; a small price to pay for the peace of mind it will provide.
Lanternfly Sightings
It is happening again, just as it has been for the past few years: we have had our fair share of lanternfly sightings at (and inside) the Tribune office, and all over town.
We know we are not alone in finding these insects, as we have seen them throughout town and have received numerous calls from residents confirming visits from this latest generation of the crop-destroying spotted lanternflies which has been hatching throughout New Jersey. The colorful, eye-catching, bugs look different throughout their life cycle, which can make identifying them a challenge. And they are currently in the stage when they have reached full maturity and are laying egg masses that will hatch next spring.
Last month, state and township officials got straight to the point when offering advice about what to do with lanternflies: if you see it, stomp it. Anyone who comes across the insect should destroy it immediately to help slow the spread of these invasive and destructive pests. The insect feeds on 70 different plant species, causing significant damage and even death to them.
According to French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, there are specific steps homeowners can take to fight spotted lanternfly infestation: smash them, spray them with insecticide soap, spray weeds with vinegar, scrape the eggs into a bottle containing alcohol, suck the flies up with a shop vac, and wrap sticky paper or backwards duct tape around an infested tree.
Unfortunately, the time to eradicate lanternflies has passed; they appear to be here to stay. To us, the problem seems worse this year than last, even if we have grown somewhat accustomed to the pesky insects flying right at us without warning. But if we do not attempt to address the problem now, it will only grow worse this time next year.
